On display soon,how mill workers lived and what they wove

A display of cloth traditionally weaved in Maharashtra and Marathwada,such as Paithani,Chanderi,Maheshwari,Pooneri and Navvari,with antiques acquired from private and government collections,as well as costumes worn by communities in the 19th century,preserved uniforms of British Army personnel and Indian-origin outfits such as the cummerbund,bandgala,angarkha and Jodhpuri.

These will be part of a museum showcasing the history of the textile mill industry of central Mumbai,known once as the Manchester of the East,and explaining its rise and fall and the subsequent fate of about 1.5 lakh workers employed in 80 textile mills during the late 1970s.

More than two years after proposing such a museum,the BMC has finalised the draft plan,prepared by conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah. It will be based on the lines of the Helmshore Mill Museum of Lancashire,the Windham Textile and History Museum in Connecticut and other such textile museums.

The museum,being built with the help of the state government,will come up on a 64,947-square-metre plot on the premises of the defunct United India Mills 2 and 3 near Kalachowkie. The tall structures fall under heritage protection norms,and the BMC will first have to fortify them so that they can house the museum.

In addition to the museum will be an auditorium,an open-air amphitheatre,a seminar hall with educational facilities and a conservation laboratory for the collections. The seminar hall will be used for film shows and public lectures on the history of Parel and the contribution of the textile industry to the people staying there till the late 1970s.

“To ensure that the museum is economically sustainable,we will also have fashion boutiques,fine dining restaurants,a banquet hall,a food court with a cafe near the pond with outdoor seating,and a museum shop selling memorabilia on the premises of the museum compound,” additional municipal commissioner R A Rajeev said.

The food court will have stalls selling traditional Maharashtrian,Bhandari,Malvani,Udipi and Goan food.

Unlike the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastusangharalaya and the Bhau Daji Lad Museum that charge very little for entry,the textile museum will charge Rs 50 per head with an option of human or audio-recorded guides.

The total cost is estimated at over Rs 88 crore,of which the BMC has made a budgetary provision of Rs 10 crore for 2010-11.